FWIW, one parent's take on redshirting (sort of) now that DS has started K in MCPS

[Anonymous]

Agreed it's a good date and your son got lucky in the sense that he's naturally the oldest in the class. That's not the same thing as red-shirting.

Plus, everybody knows that VA has better schools than MD anyway.

[Anonymous]

Your son has been in K for 2 weeks? It is normal and natural for children to have an adjustment period to K. The kids crying at dropoff now are not necessarily "not ready" for K. My young for grade DD (August birthday, now in thrid grade) is still tired at the end of the day. I don't think that means she is not ready to be in school with her academic peers.

Also, the issues with kids being old for grade don't typically occur until after K. My young for grade DD loved K, which is typically still very play based, but found 1st and 2nd incredibly boring. I am worried about my October birthday younger DD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And FWIW, the younger boys were the ones crying and holding onto their parents at drop-off and from what I've heard from some friends with kindergarteners on the younger side they seem to be the ones who come home exhausted and cranky. Of course, such sweeping generalizations need not apply to your child --- just take the comment as my two cents.

I agree that it is very child-dependent.

My DC will be 6 in December and just started Kindergarten in FCPS. A friend's DC will be 6 next month and also just started Kindergarten in FCPS. My DC hasn't cried or held on to me at drop-off. But my friend's DC has been clingy, and crying, and very sad about going to Kindergarten. I don't think the crying/clinging part if age dependent but individual to the specific child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes, I realize my son's situation isn't exactly redshirting --- and that's why I clarified the title by saying "redshirting (sort of)." FWIW, had my son been born a couple weeks earlier, this would have met the very high redshirting standards employed by the sticklers for exact language in this thread

I merely posted this as just one small example from a BTDT mom who agonized over when her September baby should start K. That's all.

Also FWIW, my kid loves K in MCPS and according to him all they do is "play all day" (which I'm sure isn't the case, but he seems to think so nonetheless --- which is great). They do have learning centers and seem to be working on normal K stuff --- so perhaps the strenous MCPS curriculum is merely an urban legend (or maybe they're just easing the kids into things).

And FWIW, the younger boys were the ones crying and holding onto their parents at drop-off and from what I've heard from some friends with kindergarteners on the younger side they seem to be the ones who come home exhausted and cranky. Of course, such sweeping generalizations need not apply to your child --- just take the comment as my two cents.

Whatever you need to tell yourself, lady.

[Anonymous]

Seriously....the OP sounds totally delusional. Get a grip on reality, lady.

[Anonymous]

My 5 year-old (6 in May next year) in K (MCPS) has not cried once. At back to school night yesterday his teacher, whom I met for the first time, is afraid the principal may bump him up to first grade (30 day window). He has already mastered their formal K curriculum. She wants to hold onto him because she claims he is so well behaved (not at home!) Since this is his first exposure to formal schooling we do not plan to advance him at this point in time. That may come in later years if necessary. Those who have many children know that temperment is variable (function of nature and nurture) and not age-dependent.

[Anonymous]

Yikes! Move him up. Why subject him to a year of boredom and unruly classmates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yikes! Move him up. Why subject him to a year of boredom and unruly classmates?

I wouldn't move him up. He may be ready for first grade at 5, but that doesn't mean he'll be ready for high school at 13. Or if he is academically ready, he may not be ready socially.

Or were you being sarcastic?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Right, but that's arbitrary at the margins.

In other counties, OPs son would be in first grade now. My son, if he were in the same class with OPs son, would be 11 mo younger. I thought seriously about redshirting, but my pre-K teacher said he's ready, he was ready months ago.

It's kind of a big thing if you're at cusp.

Except that every class has to have a youngest child and an oldest child. So any individual family's effort to avoid that fate for their child doesn't change the fact that the teacher has to teach a range of ages--in fact, gaming the system makes it worse by turning a 12-month age spread across a class into a 15- or 18-month spread. This hurts all children in the room, including the ones redshirted (or pushed ahead).

The fact that OP's son was "on the margins" and might have been in K in another system doesn't matter. In her system, he is in K when he should be, presumably with children no more than 11 months younger than he is. I'm glad this has worked out so well for her, but it's really just the result of following the rules. I'm dumbstruck by the fact that the simple decision to start a child in school when the school system says he should start has generated so much comment.

[Anonymous]

We have not received any formal assessment or recommendation from the school short of the brief comment at back to school night. During this initial month period (hectic for teachers and pupils), we would prefer to allow the teacher/school to make a relatively unbiased assessment of our child before interjecting our opinions and clamoring for a grade skip. So far, he has not expressed boredom and seems to enjoy teacher and class.

Admittedly, we are not as anxious with him (as we were with his 8-year-old brother). If he follows in the footsteps of his older brother, who started in much the same way but had a much different temperment, (openly expressed boredom and demonstrated signs and symptoms of deprived intellectual stimulation) he may require radical subject acceleration or a grade skip. We fought hard to get the older brother finally radically accelerated with success coming after 2 years when the signs were as clear as night and day to the school.

Against this backdrop, since both boys are in the same school now, I foresee a much smoother path for the second child if and when the need arises.

For now, he is probably is getting more intellectual stimulation at home from his older brother and school is fun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
We have not received any formal assessment or recommendation from the school short of the brief comment at back to school night. During this initial month period (hectic for teachers and pupils), we would prefer to allow the teacher/school to make a relatively unbiased assessment of our child before interjecting our opinions and clamoring for a grade skip. So far, he has not expressed boredom and seems to enjoy teacher and class.

Admittedly, we are not as anxious with him (as we were with his 8-year-old brother). If he follows in the footsteps of his older brother, who started in much the same way but had a much different temperment, (openly expressed boredom and demonstrated signs and symptoms of deprived intellectual stimulation) he may require radical subject acceleration or a grade skip. We fought hard to get the older brother finally radically accelerated with success coming after 2 years when the signs were as clear as night and day to the school.

Against this backdrop, since both boys are in the same school now, I foresee a much smoother path for the second child if and when the need arises.

For now, he is probably is getting more intellectual stimulation at home from his older brother and school is fun.

I'm another MCPS parent with a child who has fully completed the K curriculum and is complaining about the work being easy (to me, not the teacher). Teacher briefly mentioned he's doing things he shouldn't be able to do yet, but assessments won't be done till the end of the month. From what I understand, our school doesn't believe in grade skipping. Can you supply me with more info on how it works in yours?

[Anonymous]

There is a county rule (MCPS) that allows a child to skip K directly into 1st Grade. That decision is made within but before the first 30 days of school for the kindergarten child. That decision is arrived at the recommendation of the Principal in consultation with the K-teacher and parent. You should inquire directly from your teacher, principal and/or the MCPS (or MCPS Ombudsman)

I was not aware of this rule when I moved to the County with my first child who ultimately was subject accelerated big time at the end of the first grade by way of school of hard knocks -- aggressive advocacy. I was later informed by an MCPS ES principal that such radical acceleration may have been avoided (smoother jumps) if he had skipped K right from the jump. The principal was surprised I had not been advised of this. My response: I was new to the County (did not want to create waves with my first born right out of the hop) and both the Principal and Vice were also brand new from different States (e.g., Counties). They probably were unaware of the rule (fine print)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a county rule (MCPS) that allows a child to skip K directly into 1st Grade. That decision is made within but before the first 30 days of school for the kindergarten child. That decision is arrived at the recommendation of the Principal in consultation with the K-teacher and parent. You should inquire directly from your teacher, principal and/or the MCPS (or MCPS Ombudsman)

I was not aware of this rule when I moved to the County with my first child who ultimately was subject accelerated big time at the end of the first grade by way of school of hard knocks -- aggressive advocacy. I was later informed by an MCPS ES principal that such radical acceleration may have been avoided (smoother jumps) if he had skipped K right from the jump. The principal was surprised I had not been advised of this. My response: I was new to the County (did not want to create waves with my first born right out of the hop) and both the Principal and Vice were also brand new from different States (e.g., Counties). They probably were unaware of the rule (fine print)!

NP and MCPS K parent here. I haven't heard of this. Why does the assessment need to be done within the first 30 days? At our school they won't even test them for reading until sometime in October. I did know that you could enter K early but the child has to test in and I thought that their birthday had to fall before mid-October or they were not eligible.

[Anonymous]

I would advise you contact the MCPS (they have a web site with a search feature or perhaps speak with a MCPS official) but I was informed there is a 30-day window from the start of the school year where a putative Kindergarten pupil can leap into Grade 1 with blessing of pupil, parent, teacher and school Head in MCPS. In fact my informant a year ago, MCPS-ES Principal, added that one explicit condition in the rules or regulations where an automatic skip is allowed. If you are interested in this for your child you had better begin discussions with the K-teacher and the Principal. They would have to approve the merits of your request with a combination of any justification/data you can provide plus whatever data the school has accumulated during the first month (e.g., your child reads a book, writes his name and a sentence and performs single and double digit arithematic computations) In clear instances, it doesn't take much time to demonstrate this!

[Anonymous]

Addendum: "My child is bored" will not cut it or pass the sniff test.